According to the latest report on hiring in Canada from Robert Half, 63% of hiring managers in marketing and creative industries plan on bringing in more contract professionals by year-end.

The survey was conducted from June 17 to July 14 and includes responses from more than 575 managers with hiring responsibilities at companies with 20 or more employees in Canada.

The report found that 50% of respondents are filling vacated positions and 40% plan on adding new positions in the back half of 2022, with only 2% shedding jobs.

But it also found that 45% of hiring managers across the industry plan to bring in more contract professionals to fill their needs, with marketing and creative leading the way (63%), ahead of legal (53%) and finance and accounting (51%) fields.

“In addition to hiring for critical full-time functions, employers are relying on contract talent to stay agile in an ever-changing hiring landscape,” says Deborah Bottineau, district director, Robert Half Canada.

Additionally, 73% of employers intend to hire more entry-level or early-career professionals.

A lack of qualified professionals is the biggest hiring obstacle reported by respondents (40%) followed by inflated candidate salary expectations exceeding what firms can offer (22%).

“While the Canadian economy continues to fluctuate, workers remain in the driver’s seat,” Bottineau maintains. “With retention top of mind for many organizations, prioritizing employee well-being, engagement and professional development can positively impact overall loyalty, morale and job satisfaction.”

To lure candidates, 42% of employers are increasing starting salaries, while 34% are offering remote work, 31% are offering signing bonuses and loosening educational/skills requirements and 30% are easing geographical requirements.

In recent weeks, several major employers – primarily in the tech sector – have changed their staffing needs. Among the examples are Shopify, which reduced its workforce by 10% in response to ecommerce growth stagnating, and Facebook, which plans layoffs in the near future as recession fears are leading to less spending from advertisers. While it still plans on growing, Google is among the companies that will be “slowing down hiring” through the rest of the year.

Despite this, 79% of hiring managers in Robert Half’s survey remain concerned about more employees jumping ship, with those in HR (83%) and finance and accounting (79%) most likely to worry about resignations within their teams.